


Aponia

by satincolt



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Fluff, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Kurapika, Other, Periods, Trans Character, also very very brief mention of trans killua, leorio is a good boyfriend, periods really suck and kurapika feels my pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3517592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satincolt/pseuds/satincolt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's nothing quite like the almost euphoric feeling of the absence of pain after prolonged agony... Kurapika gets their period and it's not kind to them at all.  Ridiculously sweet leopika fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aponia

_Aponia:  a tenet of the Epicurian philosophy meaning a euphoric state in the absence of bodily pain_

_\- - - - -_

_Oh fucking hell_ , Kurapika thinks as another wave of dull, sickening pain grips their lower abdomen like the jaws of a hellhound.  They’ve already swallowed more pain medications than are strictly necessary or safe just in an effort to relieve the agony of these cramps. Leorio would pitch a fit if he knew they’d mixed medications, too.  Three hours now they’ve been consumed by the pain and unable to think of anything else, though it feels like half an eternity. 

Eventually, their mind comes around to something Killua mentioned to them once.  It’s like a yoga pose that’s supposed to get rid of cramps.

_“You just get down on your elbows and kind of stick your butt up in the air,” Killua demonstrated, sitting next to Kurapika on the bed while both of them blushed uncomfortably at the topic of menstruation.  “It looks stupid and feels pretty dumb but it actually helps,” he swore. Kurapika filed it it away in their mind but never thought they’d actually use it… their dignity probably wouldn’t allow for it._

_I have nothing to lose_ , Kurapika eventually decides, shifting around to get into the pose. If they weren’t in such agony, they would probably be a little bit embarrassed, but they literally do not care at this point.  Anything that has a promise of making this pain go away is worth a shot.  The pain intensifies with movement, especially as they use their abs to shift around, and they whimper uncontrollably.  Each measured breath _in, out… in, out… in, out…_ is a quiet, low moan and for a moment they’re able to focus just on their breathing and not on the pain.  For half a second, the cramps ease up.  Kurapika’s eyes fly open at the brief absence of pain and they breathe in sharply in relief, only to have the cramps and nausea come crashing back down on them, forcing a strangled cry from their clenched teeth.

Still, though, that little lapse is going to grow into bigger and bigger breaks between cramps until finally they’ll be able to pass out from the near-orgasmic lack of pain.  Kurapika holds onto the sight of that and counts their breaths until the next blip of relief.  As that relief carries the pain away for a few seconds, Kurapika finds themself relieved Leorio’s at work until later today as well.  They’d hate for their lover to see them in such a compromising state… incoherent, sweating, out of their mind with pain, contorting into unbecoming positions, moaning like an animal, kicking and writhing uncontrollably, haven’t changed out of their pajamas, teeth unbrushed, the definition of a _hot mess_.  That’s one indignity they wouldn’t be able to take gracefully.

The breaks are coming sooner and sooner, thirty or so breaths apart, and lasting for a glorious fifteen seconds, and Kurapika is so fixated on that beautiful, amazing relief they lose track of the world around them.  Everything has narrowed down to the pain and relief between the contractions and cramps. Somewhere in their mind, they make a note to thank Killua for the tip and ask him how he came up with it.

Finally, the cramps release their hold on Kurapika’s body and relief washes through them like floodwaters after a drought. A breathy moan of pleasure escapes their throat and their arms tremble with the prolonged effort of holding themself up as their body turns to jelly, quiet aftershocks of nausea-pain blinking out of existence.  Though they’d be loathe to admit it, this is one of their favorite feelings. The absolute, pure pleasure in the absence of agony after a long bout of cramps. 

They’re so wrapped up in the amazing feeling of it that the light touch on their hip nearly gives them a heart attack. They clumsily scramble away from the touch, throwing their arms up in defense, only to see a very concerned Leorio, his hand still outstretched.

“Kurapika?” he asks softly, setting his bag down on the floor.  He’s still in his scrubs and he looks exhausted from his shift at the hospital. 

“You—you weren’t supposed to be back so early,” Kurapika says, unintentionally breathy from their panicked panting, fighting to regain some composure.  They rake a hand through their sweaty, somewhat greasy hair— _oh god, I need a shower, I probably smell—_ and push themself upright on one hand.

“Are you alright?” Leorio asks in that calm, professional voice he uses with patients.  Kurapika nods, swallowing to fix their dry throat.

“I’m fine.  Perfectly alright,” they say in as normal a tone as they can muster.

“You didn’t look perfectly alright five minutes ago,” Leorio says.

“Five minutes ago?!” Kurapika blurts, clapping a hand over their mouth.  “F-five minutes ago? Have you…did—did you _see_ any of that?”

Leorio looks as if he’s debating internally what to say. “Yes.  I don’t like seeing you in pain, Pika…”

The tenderness and concern in his voice and eyes almost melts Kurapika’s heart.  They offer him a small shrug.  “There’s really nothing you can do about some things…”

“I know,” Leorio murmurs, climbing onto the bed, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”  He gathers Kurapika into his arms and holds them close, fitting their head just under his chin as he rubs their lower back.  His hands are so _warm_ and _gentle_ and Kurapika allows themself to relax into the soft, massaging touches and as the residual tension winds out of their muscles, they attain a new level of jellyness, drooping slightly and leaning into Leorio’s chest.  Belatedly, they realize Leorio is humming quietly.  It’s nice.  Gradually, their hold on the sleeve of Leorio’s scrubs weakens and Kurapika goes slack in his arms. The last thing they feel before blissful sleep claims them is a soft kiss on the top of their head.


End file.
